Then, earlier this month, something miraculous happened. The whole family arrived at Cats Protection, a local shelter, looking for a new kitten to adopt - they had even picked one out online, Orlando, but were told he had just been diagnosed with FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) and couldn't go home with them yet.

But as the family went walking through the adoption center, to their surprise, they spotted their much-missed Phoenix.

"It was amazing and the children were so pleased. Ronnie saw him straightaway and was screaming and cheering with excitement," Humber told the Derby Telegraph.

Ronnie was so overjoyed to see his pet again that he burst into happy tears. They'll be able to take Phoenix home this week - and Humber said neither of her sons can stop talking about having him home again.

Phoenix's microchip hadn't been updated with the family's new address - which is why the shelter hadn't been able to track them down.

"If a cat is handed in to us we'll always scan it for a microchip so that we can get in touch with their owner but unfortunately in this case Phoenix's details were out of date so the adoption center couldn't get hold of the owner," Cats Protection posted on its Facebook page. "So it must have been fate that his owners spotted Phoenix!"

Now that the family is reunited, they'll make sure Phoenix is never lost again. Ronnie isn't going to let his best friend out of his sight for a while.